How effective are snow tires?

[sysfailur]

I've got Dunlop Wintersport M3's for my STi and they're absolutely amazing. We also have a 03 Forrester 2.5XS. It's got zilch for power but with snow tires it literally destroys any and all vehicles on the road. Passing Jeeps and municipal snow plows becomes the norm with a scoob on snow tires.

For the BRZ I'd imagine it would help but my car won't be seeing winter duty.

[stateless]

Just remember if you're putting weight in the back to watch how much and where you put it. If you get carried away/put it too far back, it can cause the rear to want to overtake the front. VSC however might be able to help prevent that a bit, but I think in particularly icy situations it could still be an issue.

[Calum]

Wow, not one 'my dad always used all seasons and never had an accident...' response. This gives me some hope for the world.

Agreed, snow tires make a huge difference.

[Draco-REX]

Once you spend a winter on snow tires, you'll never look at all-seasons again. You'll want dedicated winter and summer tires for each of you cars after that.

[theredtape]

Originally Posted by Draco-REX

Once you spend a winter on snow tires, you'll never look at all-seasons again. You'll want dedicated winter and summer tires for each of you cars after that.

I just priced out a set of snow tires at about 700 for steelies and blizzacs. Thats before tpms (400 bucks!). I hope I don't end up wanting summers and winters for every car! That will add up quickly.

[Turbowned]

I wouldn't waste the $$ on the TPMS, just get a $5 tire pressure gauge and check them once a month. See if anyone's selling a used set of wheels/tires on Craigslist. You can pick up a cheap set of 16" WRX wheels and put 16" snow tires on; that'll save you the money over buying 17's and steelies. That's what I plan to do.

I've always had RWD cars in the snow. The year that I put snow tires on my car it was like a revelation! It absolutely embarrassed the FWD car with all-seasons that I was driving before. The BRZ with it's balanced chassis, low CoG and limited slip diff will do very well in the winter with snow tires. If you really want the extra traction in ice, you can get studded snow tires, but I found them to be overkill in Massachusetts. Studded tires are legal between the months of November-March.

[smbrm]

Proper snow tires can make a car that is undrivable with summers very driveable in winter conditions. Its amazing how they change your grip. Even very worn down snows can be better than newer summers or all seasons.

[stateless]

Originally Posted by Calum

Wow, not one 'my dad always used all seasons and never had an accident...' response. This gives me some hope for the world.

Agreed, snow tires make a huge difference.

well... my dad couldn't afford winters and drove a new [at that time] '89 240sx for its first three years on summer tires in Calgary winters (and he put on a ton of km for work) and he survived without an accident. Of course there were times he'd be driving a regular straight road and would let off the gas and the car would do a doughnut in the middle of the street, but that's besides the point. After that he switched to all-seasons and they were great by comparison. He now uses winter tires on all his cars, even those with AWD.

[DEC1]

Originally Posted by theredtape

I just priced out a set of snow tires at about 700 for steelies and blizzacs. Thats before tpms (400 bucks!). I hope I don't end up wanting summers and winters for every car! That will add up quickly.

forget the TPMS sensors!...you'll have a little yellow light that might bother you a bit but nothing bad will happen. And look into some relatively cheap but nicer alloys...for prob around 125 each you'll have a new winter look for your car...